Maguire eyes Man Utd ever-present landmark

Harry Maguire has got his sights set on becoming the first outfield player to complete every minute of a Premier League campaign for Manchester United since the 1994-95 season.

The England defender is aiming to follow in the footsteps of fellow centre-back Gary Pallister, who managed two ever-present seasons with United.

United face Maguire's former club Sheffield United on Wednesday and still have seven top-flight games to play after that.

But even with a packed fixture list, truncated by the coronavirus-enforced shutdown, skipper Maguire is hopeful of being involved throughout as United chase Champions League qualification and he looks to equal a feat achieved by Pallister in 1992-93 and 1994-95.

4 - Harry Maguire has scored four goals from outside the box in his club career, with all four coming in different competitions (FA Cup, Premier League, League One and the EFL Trophy). Leather. pic.twitter.com/4RtFaMv7mq

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) January 26, 2020

"Yes, it's going to be hard work with games coming every three days or so," he told the club's matchday programme.

"But, no, I'm in a great position – physically and, mentally, I'm fresh and ready to go. I hope, with every player coming back, we don't want anyone to pick up any injuries due to the amount of games we have coming up.

"Fingers crossed for all players out there – we don't want anybody picking up injuries so there are fully fit squads and everyone going full throttle at it, playing football. It's what we love to do.

"I've seen, on Sky, the fixtures and how many games are being shown every day really, so it's going to be a great time for the fans to sit back and watch.

"They will be disappointed they can't go to stadiums to support the lads, but it's the best we can do at the minute.

"I am sure it will still be a great time for fans and, hopefully, for the players as well."

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side marked their return to action with a 1-1 draw at Tottenham and face another potential top-four rival on Wednesday.

Chris Wilder's men have stumbled in their first two games back, drawing with Aston Villa and suffering a 3-0 loss against Newcastle United.

The Red Devils sit fifth, five points behind fourth-placed Chelsea and two ahead of the Blades, with whom they drew 3-3 at Bramall Lane.